Condemned
by Ryoukko-kai
Summary: Raizen runs from his determined human pursuers.  A heart races, arrows fire, and a demon runs for his life.  A story detailing the wounds that caused Raizen to meet the healer that helped him and, seven hundred years and a vow later, killed him.  Oneshot


Raizen ran. His booted feet padded on the soft, dew-covered grass, and the nighttime wind tousled his long, snow-white hair. Still, his usually smooth, powerful gait was crooked, and the demon was bleeding on the dirt paths and carefully tended lawns: an arrow was lodged in his left side, right near his hipbone. A blood-froth coated his lips and his violet eyes were wide with fear. He was the hunter, not the hunted! Yet the humans that chased behind him argued otherwise.

The twang of a bowstring broke the silence, the arrow thudding into a wooden wall. Raizen dodged to the right, another arrow barely missing him. The demon was afraid. He would usually be able to outrun the humans, to escape. But the nasty wound in his hip slowed him down, and he couldn't get away. He was in over his head this time.

The demon had only wanted a taste of meat, and the helpless humans wandering in his territory seemed easy prey. But that was before they turned that terrible, terrible weapon on him, before an arrow cut through his flesh. He was stuck, he was condemned to an unfitting death.

Raizen's usually slow heart raced, hammering in his chest until he thought it was going to burst from the effort. His fanged mouth was open wide, his tongue hanging out to the side as he panted for breath like a tired dog. He breathed deeply to give himself enough air to keep going, although the cold night air cut into his lungs and gave him a chilled feeling in his chest, even while he was sweating from the exertion. Raizen licked his lips, swallowing the drool that was sliding down his chin, and risked a look back.

They were gaining. Their prey was weak, tired, and they would catch him soon. He was terrified…

Another bow fired. The shot was a tad bit high, ruffling his mangy white hair, but it still struck with force enough to snap his head forward. A pained whimper came from the back of his throat, a weak sound that he didn't even know he could make. His eyes were as wide as saucers.

He leaped into the air, barely dodging another arrow, trying to land on the roof of the house next to him. His aim was off, though; the demon crashed shoulder first into the ceiling with enough force to tear shingles from the roof and rain the floor below it with dirt and debris. During the leap, another arrow struck home, slamming into his back. It glanced off his ribs, but it was clear that it would slow his already pace. He was a dead demon…

Raizen couldn't wait, though, and he shrugged off the pain, running on all fours over the top of the roof. His sensitive, pointed ears picked up the thudding of arrows hitting the opposite side of the roof. He wanted nothing more than to rest and calm his rapidly pounding heart, but he couldn't, couldn't stop, couldn't rest. Stopping was the same as condemning himself to death. Drawing to his feet, he leaped to the ground, running into the forest.

He sprinted for a second without the veritable rain of arrows that had fell around him earlier, before an arrow hit him hard in the shoulder. He cried out in pain, rubbing his wounded shoulder against a nearby tree in hopes of dislodging the arrow. The demon snapped its shaft, although the efforts only served to force the wicked head of it deeper into his body. A gasp of pain gusted out of his lungs, and he clenched his fists so tightly that his claws dug into his skin, drawing blood. Another arrow whizzed through the space where his head had been a quarter of a second ago.

He skidded to a semi-halt, making a sharp right angle turn and bolting forward, barely avoiding another bowshot. He had put some distance between himself and them, but it wouldn't be enough to save his life. He had gotten lucky so far, but it wasn't going to hold up, and soon an arrow would find his heart or brain. That is, if his heart didn't explode from the strain before then.

He dove over a low stone wall, setting the house owner's dog into a barking frenzy. Two or three more arrows thudded into the wooden wall of the house, one of them grazing his cheek. It stung like fire, but he couldn't stop. Raizen pulled himself off the ground, running, and tried to leap over the person's fence. He didn't quite have the energy, though. Instead, the demon crashed clear through it, turning the fence to kindling.

He was desperate. Anyone, anything, that could help him, he would accept. In a last-ditch effort to escape, he ducked and wove through and around a few more huts, barely managing to pull ahead. Noticing a building with a thin wooden door, he didn't hesitate to charge towards it. He jumped towards the door, throwing out his foot to try and kick it down, although it was more of a full-body tackle that actually broke it in. Panting for breath, he ran to a water barrel that was sitting out, threw the lid off, and stuck his face in. The cool water felt good on his face, and he greedily lapped it up, taking his short rest while he still could. This may have been the last moment of his life, so he'd rather die putting up a fight and satiated, as far as water went, then fleeing like a pathetic deer, his whole body barely functioning still.

Then he saw _her_. She was his savior, his love…his executioner. Seeing, knowing, he chose to accept his fate. Looking into her eyes, he realized the truth he had known the whole time: he was condemned.


End file.
